How to Charge Golf Cart Batteries

I don’t think I need to say much about golf carts and the extreme usefulness of these small vehicles. Most of us already own golf carts or planning to purchase one shortly.

But golf carts are also a vehicle and need proper care like other road vehicles. Since the bigger portion of the golf carts is electric, the most common thing that can damage quicker are the batteries. Most battery-damage occurs due to bad and irregular charging. That’s why it is must necessary to know how to charge a golf cart properly if you own a cart. This article will show you the rightmost way of charging golf cart batteries and how to manage when you don’t have the proper charger in a very simple and detailed way.

Golf Cart Batteries

Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery and Lithium-Ion batteries are the most usable batteries in golf carts. Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries are relatively bigger and made of sulfuric acid. These batteries come in three voltage variations(6, 8 & 12 volts). On the other hand, Lithium-Ion batteries are quite smaller in size and one of the most reliable batteries among all. These batteries need the least maintenance and have a long service life.

How to Charge a Golf Cart

The safe and secure way of charging a golf cart is with the provided charger and a suitable power outlet. At first, plug-in the charger with the cart’s charging port and then connect the other end of the charger with the power outlet. Make sure that the cart is turned off and nothing is draining the batteries while charging.

You may also think’ how long to charge golf cart batteries?’. Well, the charging time depends on the type, voltage, and condition of the batteries of the cart. Typically, it can take 7 to 10 hours to fully charging the batteries. Fast charging enabled carts can charge even faster. After start charging the cart, see the charging indicator of the cart to make sure it is charging properly.

How to Charge Golf Cart Batteries Manually with Different Chargers

It is much common that you lost or destroyed the provided charger. For this, you have to use another charger to charge your cart batteries. But not all charger can charge the batteries and other can damage the batteries. At first, use a volt-meter to check the voltage of the batteries and use the given processes to recharge the batteries without any hassle. Since 12-volt chargers are very common and can easily be found, there is a high probability you get a 12-volt charger.

How to Charge 6-Volt Golf Cart Batteries with 12-Volt Chargers

For charging 6-volt batteries at the same time, you first need to count the number of your cart’s batteries. Then connect two batteries in series(one’s positive to another’s negative) by one terminal to make a 12-volt connection.

Now connect the positive port of the charger with the remain positive terminal of the 1st battery and connect the negative terminal with the remain negative terminal of the 2nd battery. Now charge those batteries until they feel mild warm or use a voltmeter to check if they are fully charged or not.

If you got more batteries for charging, then make pair of two batteries and similarly connect them. Now connect all the remain positive terminals with a connection wire and all remain negatives with another wire. Connect the positive port of the charger’s positive connecting wire and do vice versa with the negative wire.

How to Charge 8-Volt Golf Cart Batteries with A 12-Volt Charger

To charge 8-volt batteries manually, you will also have to follow the same method as 6v batteries. but with different alignments. Besides, you will need two 12v chargers to charge those batteries.

Connect 1st battery’s negative terminal with the 2nd one’s positive and the second battery’s negative with the third one’s positive. This will make a 24v battery alignment. Now connect the positive port of the charger with the positive terminal of the 1st battery and attach negative wires of the chargers with the negative terminal of the 3rd battery.

If you need to charge more than three batteries, you must establish connections between every three batteries as described. Now make a connection between the remaining positive terminals and another connection on every open negative terminal. Afterward, attach the connecting wire with positive to positive and negative to negative.

How to Charge 48-Volt Golf Cart Batteries or 24-Volt Batteries

These kinds of batteries are nothing but a conjugation of 6, 8, or 12 voltage batteries. So, it is safe to take out all batteries and measure their voltage and use any of the mentioned processes to charge them. If they are 12v batteries, just connect all their positives and make another connection between all negative. Then attach positive port of charger with positive connector and negative with the negative connection.

But if the batteries are sealed together and you can’t separately charge them, it is better to look for a similar voltage charger to charge those batteries. You can also calculate voltage and use one or several 12v chargers to charge the packet of batteries. This process is unsafe and can harm batteries too.

How to Charge Dead Golf Cart Batteries

At the very begging, make sure that your charger is working properly by using a voltmeter. If it is ok then make sure there is enough water in the batteries. It simply happens when the voltage of the batteries falls much lower than minimum requirements and the automatic chargers just can’t detect the minimum voltage and recognize it as dead.

Dead battery problems can easily overcome with a 12v battery charger. Calculate the 12v or 24v by voltmeter and then give the connection of the 12v charger and keep there for half an hour or more. For three 8v batteries in series, you will need two 12v chargers to charge them up. Do these with all the batteries and then check with a voltmeter. If the voltage is near the battery’s default voltage, now use your regular charger and charge it.

Charging Golf Cart Batteries with Car Charger or by A Used Golf Cart Battery Charger

It is possible to charge the golf cart with a used cart charger or a car charger, but, the charger must have the same charging voltage as the original charger and the amplifier should be also tolerable for the cart’s batteries.

Remember the Do’s and Don’ts

Keep the batteries dry and clean.
Use protective goggles and gloves when working or cleaning the batteries.
Do not let the water all the way up to the caps. The water should just cover the top of the plates.
Do not fill water while charging.
Always use distilled water in the battery.
The battery should be charged over 80%. The first 80% charge takes time only 2 to 3 hours, but the rest 20% needs 6 or more hours to recharge.
Try not to let the battery charge below 20%, if you are having lead-acid batteries.
Charge the cart batteries daily, if you run it all day long or 5 minutes.
Clean the batteries once a month using baking soda and check the battery cells manually.
Do not over-charge the batteries, if you are not using an automatic charger.
Try not to charging golf cart batteries with a car charger, used a golf cart battery charger for a full recharge.
Do not smoke while performing battery maintenance.

Final Verdict

Batteries are the core of any electric vehicle. Golf carts are fully dependent on them. Your wrong charging and carelessness can damage its batteries and cost you hundreds of dollars. It also can fall you in bad and shameful condition while playing in the course. So, make a good habit of charging your golf carts.

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Source & Reference

https://www.golfstorageguide.com/how-to-charge-golf-cart-batteries/
https://thecampingadvisor.com/charge-8-volt-golf-cart-batteries/
https://www.rmigolfcarts.com/blogs/news/how-to-properly-charge-a-golf-cart-battery
https://goneoutdoors.com/charge-golf-cart-automotive-battery-charger-12019223.html
https://youtu.be/-Ba4y-DugrU
https://www.golfcarsunlimited.com/types-golf-cart-batteries/
https://youtu.be/r0XxnaWO8JA